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6 Jun 2007 : Column 520W—continued
Children: Poverty
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households with children living below (a) 60 per cent. of median income and (b) 40 per cent. of median income are not in receipt of tax credits. [135398]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 2 May 2007]: The available information is in the following table.
The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors and will not be the same as any figures previously published which were based on McClements equivalisation factors.
Chile
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Chile. [130504]
Mr. Hutton: I visited Chile from 15 to 18 March 2007. While there, I addressed a conference organised by the Policy Network on “Globalisation and the New Welfare Model” alongside the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet.
I met my Chilean opposite number, Osvaldo Andrade, at which we were joined by our Argentinean counterpart, Carlos Tomada. This meeting provided an opportunity to compare approaches on pensions and labour market reforms.
I also met Paulina Velso, Secretary General to the Presidency of Chile. This meeting provided an opportunity to deepen discussion on social issues initiated by Lord Triesman on his visit to Chile in December 2006.
Employment: East Lothian
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps have been taken to increase employment levels in East Lothian constituency. [139733]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 4 June 2007]: East Lothian has benefited from a number of programmes and initiatives aimed at increasing employment levels and improving employment opportunities for local people. These have included national programmes like the new deal which, since 1998, has helped 1,970 people in East Lothian into work.
In October 2006 the new deal plus for lone parents pilot was extended to Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders, meaning eligible lone parents in those areas, including people in East Lothian, can access the extra help and support offered through the initiative. The pilot focuses on a package combining access to good affordable childcare and strong financial work incentives. We recently announced that new deal plus for lone parents will be extended to March 2011 in pilot areas.
Eligible lone parents in East Lothian leaving benefits for full-time employment can also claim an in-work credit of £40 a week, payable for the first 12 months in work and between October 2004 and January 2007 180 lone parents in the East Lothian constituency received the in-work credit.
In December, our Pathways to Work programme will also be rolled out in Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders, including East Lothian. This will provide an integrated package of employment advice and health and financial support to help people on incapacity benefits move into work.
The welfare to work measures we have introduced have, since1997, helped to: increase the employment level in East Lothian by 3.3 percentage points; reduce the number of jobseeker’s allowance claimants by 63 per cent. reduce long term claimant unemployment by 88 per cent. reduce youth claimant unemployment by 47 per cent. and reduce long term youth claimant unemployment by 83 per cent.
European Social Fund
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which staff are expected to administer the new single programme under the proposal that the administration of European Social Fund programmes be transferred from Government offices to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); what discussions the Department has had with DWP on the proposed transfer of work; and what the expected benefits are of the transfer. [140722]
Mr. Plaskitt:
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) already has responsibility for European Social Fund (ESF) expenditure in England. Government offices carry out some ESF administrative tasks at regional
level on behalf of DWP. The reduction in ESF funding in 2007-13 and a simpler programme structure mean that fewer staff will be needed in future. Discussions are continuing between DWP and Communities and Local Government on the number and role of Government office staff in the new ESF programme.
Income Support
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents claiming income support stopped claiming that benefit because (a) their partner status changed, (b) their employment status changed, (c) they started claiming a different benefit and (d) their status changed in any other respect in each month between 1992 and 2007. [138812]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 22 May 2007]: The information is not available.
Lone Parents: Copeland
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Copeland were registered for lone parents benefit in the financial year ending (a) March 1997 and (b) March 2007. [138635]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The information is not available in the format requested.
Because of changes in methodology comparable figures are not available prior to 1999.
As at November 1999, there were 1,270 people in Copeland in receipt of income support as a lone parent. As at November 2006, there were 870 people in Copeland in receipt of income support as a lone parent.
National Insurance: City of Westminster
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will breakdown by ethnic nationality origin the applicants for national insurance numbers in Westminster in each of the last five years. [139816]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information is not available prior to 2002. The available information broken down by country of origin has been placed in the Library.
Social Security Benefits
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that all eligible individuals are aware of their entitlements to benefit payments. [139815]
Mr. Plaskitt: This Department does all it can to ensure that people are aware of all the benefits to which they are entitled and how to claim them. Leaflets are available at benefits offices, Citizen’s Advice Bureaux, and from welfare rights organisations and other advice giving agencies. Information is also available on the Department’s website.
We are also taking steps to improve awareness and take-up of benefits for specific groups. For example,
pensioners applying for pension credit can now access housing benefit and council tax benefit over the phone at the same time.
The Pension Service is undertaking a wide range of steps to encourage eligible pensioners to claim pension credit. For example, writing to everyone who may have an entitlement to pension credit, encouraging them to apply. The pension credit take-up campaign has also helped many older carers to benefit from the Government’s abolition of the upper age limit on claims to carer’s allowance.
Information and advice about disability living allowance and attendance allowance is provided by the Department’s freephone helpline. The Department also undertakes a considerable amount of local outreach work, and works with partners such as social services and welfare rights organisations who are well placed to identify people who may be entitled to disability benefits.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average amount of time was between receipt of a claim for (a) disability living allowance, (b) income support, (c) carer's allowance, (d) jobseeker's allowance and (e) incapacity benefit and payment of benefit for claims made by (i) telephone, (ii) post and (iii) online claim form in (A) the UK, (B) England, (C) Scotland, (D) Wales, (E) each English region and (F) each parliamentary constituency in each of the last 10 months. [140724]
James Purnell: The information is not available.
Social Security Benefits: Carers
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the benefit entitlements are of parents with children or young people (a) diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and (b) under a regime of methylphenidate drugs to combat the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. [139712]
Mr. Plaskitt: Depending on their personal circumstances, parents of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and those who are under a regime of methylphenidate drugs to combat the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have access to the full range of social security benefits. Those who provide regular and substantial care of at least 35 hours a week for a severely disabled child receiving the middle or highest rates of the disability living allowance care component can be entitled to a carer’s allowance and if on a low income, to the carer premium in the income-related benefits or the carer’s additional amount in pension credit.
Welfare Reform
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether Ministers and officials (a) in his Department and (b) in other Departments suggested amendments to David Freud’s report on the welfare system prior to its publication; [135221]
(2) on how many occasions drafts of David Freud’s report on the welfare system were shown to Ministers and officials (a) in his Department and (b) in other Departments prior to the report’s publication; [135222]
(3) at what stage drafts of David Freud’s report on the welfare system were first made available to (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) to Ministers in other Departments. [135223]
Mr. Jim Murphy: David Freud involved officials from across the Department in his review and drafts of the report were checked for consistency and factual accuracy prior to publication. Ministers and officials from other Government Departments were similarly asked to check the areas that related to their responsibilities.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many special advisers from his Department worked on David Freud’s review of the welfare system. [135226]
Mr. Jim Murphy: No special advisers were directly involved in working on the review.
Culture, Media and Sport
Cultural Heritage: Iraq
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2007, Official Report, column 1327W, on cultural heritage: Iraq, what discussions she has had with the (a) British Museum and (b) British Library on the contribution made to the protection of sites of Iraqi cultural heritage since 2003; and if she will make a statement. [136359]
Tessa Jowell: Ministers have had a number of meetings with the British Museum and the British Library since 2003. These discussions have touched on many aspects of their work, and this has included their work in Iraq.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2007, Official Report, column 1327W, on cultural heritage: Iraq, what assessment she has made of the performance of the British Museum in assisting the preservation of sites of cultural heritage in Iraq; and how much her Department has provided to the British Museum for the purpose of assisting in the preservation of sites of Iraqi cultural heritage in each year since 2003. [136371]
Tessa Jowell: The British Museum has undertaken important work in support of the preservation of Iraqi heritage. Work such as hosting three Iraqi interns studying the management of archaeological sites in the UK for eight weeks; providing expertise and training on conservation and site management; and sending archaeologists to Iraq who co-ordinated the quick supply of a wide range of materials and equipment to the Baghdad Museum.
My Department does not ring fence the Grant-in-Aid it provides to the national museums and galleries it sponsors. It is a matter for the institutions themselves to decide how best to spend the funds they receive. The British Museum has received the following Grant-in-Aid since 2003:
| £ million | |
Digital Broadcasting: Scotland
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the number of households which will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television in (a) the parliamentary constituency of Gordon and (b) Scotland. [140743]
Mr. Woodward: Details for the Gordon constituency and Scotland are as follows:
| Households (defined as eligible benefit units) | |
| Notes: 1. Totals rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Eligibility for help from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme will be by benefit unit rather than the whole household definition used by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Office to forecast future household growth. 3. The definition of a benefit unit is a couple and any dependent children. It excludes adults deemed to be non-dependents who, if eligible, will be able to claim assistance from the Help Scheme in their own right. | |
English Heritage: Public Appointments
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to be in a position to announce the name of the new Chairman of English Heritage. [139007]
Tessa Jowell: I announced the appointment of Lord Bruce-Lockhart as the new Chair of English Heritage on 24 May 2007.
Olympic Games
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) on what date the Home Office was made aware of the numbers provided by the Metropolitan Police referred to in note 1 of the minutes of the Olympic cost review steering group of 28 November 2005; [133637]
(2) what figure the Metropolitan Police provided as their further thought on numbers for security, referred to in note 1 of the minutes of the Olympic cost review steering group of 28 November 2005. [133639]
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